Adapting to an Environmental Management … Wednesday/1...Adapting to an Environmental Management Paradigm Based on ... Business Analysis / Strategic planning ... The Walt Disney Company

ACES December 12, 2012

Adapting to an Environmental

Management Paradigm Based on

Protecting the Service of Nature

Private

Sector

Challenges

Gregory R. Biddinger, Ph.D.

Natural Land Management

Houston, TX


Governance

Business Analysis / Strategic planning

Research and Development

Project Planning – Gated systems

External Communication

Facility Operations/Decommissioning

Project Development / Financing

Market Place Performance

Corporate Environmental Consideration

Internal

Process

External

Processes


Corporate Management Systems - Not Monolithic

Highly organic and integrated with the business

Reflect operational purpose, & historic

development of a corporation – “the culture”

Respond to external regulatory / market processes

40+ year evolution with current regulatory

systems

Specific to industrial categories – self regulation

Type and flow of information useful for business

decisions is defined by existing systems and

processes

Ecosystem Service (ES) information must have

utility in these systems to influence business

performance

3


Is Change Inevitable ?

“The question is no longer if ecosystem Services

will be a key framing of environmental issues

among multilateral institutions in coming years ,

but rather exactly when, where and how it will

occur”

Global Public Sector Trends in

Ecosystem Services, 2009—2011

Summary

BSR March 212

4


Business Actively Engaged with ES

5


Governance








Voluntary Corporate ES Applications

Internal

Process

External

Processes


Corporate Policy Commitment to ES Growing

Growing numbers

of corporations

are making to

commitment to

consider both

Biodiversity & ES

as part of their

Governance

processes.

AkzoNobel

Barrick Gold

BC Hydro

BHP Billiton

British American Tobacco

BP

Coca-cola

Dow

Eni

ExxonMobil

Nestle

Puma

Rabobank

Rio Tinto

Shell

The Walt Disney Company

Weyerhaeuser

7


Corporate Reporting – External Communication

• We identify biodiversity

protection objectives and

consider ecosystem services

and exploration activity through

our ESHIA process, the

preparation of Environmental

Management Plans, and our

Environmental Business

Planning efforts.

www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/safety_env_biodiversity.aspx

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services


Environmental Business Planning


planning a part of annual

planning process for all

Business units and facilities

ISO 14000 linkage

Traditional focus

Compliance

Environmental injury

Difficult to justify going

beyond compliance

Environmental

Aspects Analysis

Environmental

Impacts

Compliance

Assessment

Performance

improvement

Projects

Investment

Analysis


Environmental Business Planning


planning a part of annual

planning process for all

Business units and facilities

ISO 14000 linkage

Traditional focus

Compliance

Environmental injury

Difficult to justify going

beyond compliance

Ecosystem services values

help understand benefits

beyond compliance

Environmental

Aspects Analysis

Environmental

Impacts

Compliance

Assessment

Performance

improvement

Projects

Ecosystem

Services

Analysis

Investment

Analysis

Cost – Benefit

Analysis


R&D – Ecosystem Service Tools

Exploring tools to

assess the value of

ecosystem services

through stakeholder

engagement in Artic

• Using expert solicitation

to develop planning

matrix for deep water Gulf

of Mexico Ecosystem

Services


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Integration of ES into Property Design and Management

Operate

Retire

Acquire

Redevelop

Divest

Natural

Landscaping

Wildlife

Property Tax

Institutional

Controls on

Future uses

Natural

Remediation

Strategies

Hold or Donate for

Conservation

Marketable

Conservation

Credits

Sustainable

Design Design

Low Impact

Design / Green

infrastructure


Integrating New Design with Existing ES

Low Impact Design (LID) / Sustainable Sites Initiative

Manage storm runoff with natural

infrastructure that will enhance water quality and increase diversity of habitats

Rain gardens Bio-swales vs. piping Meadows vs. lawns

Lakes are operational components of site non-potable water supply

Forest modulates microclimate

Natural floodplain buffers retained

Extensive trail system provides access to nature


ES in Corporate Investment Decisions

Value based analysis (e.g. NPV) of management

options and trade-offs generally require value

inputs as monetary estimates

Many ES have biophysical values but can’t be

monetized in absolute terms - Exceptions Provisioning ES which trade in commodity

markets (e.g. lumber)

Ecosystem structure (i.e. green infrastructure)

that can be normalized to engineered structure

for function can be valued as a replacement cost

ES information often relegated to economic or

community sensitivities

14


New ES Tools Rapidly Developing

Input data at right landscape scale lagging!


Governance ? – ES as EPIs? Business Analysis / Strategic

planning – Delivered value? Research and Development Project Planning – Economic ? External Communication – EPIs? Facility

Operations/decommissioning Project financing Market place performance – P&L?

Some Corporate ES Applications Uncertain

Internal

Process

External

Processes


Governance








Regulated Corporate ES Applications

Internal

Process

External

Processes


Regulatory and Policy Uncertainty High

Ecosystem Service concept useful to understand

value of environmental protection.

Significant international effort to explore ES

approaches for regulatory purposes

(e.g. USEPA ORD, EU/EA, UNEP- IPBES )

Utility of ES metrics as compliance endpoint

needs further development and demonstration

Many scientific challenges ESV measure consumer preference not ecological integrity

ESV changes across a landscape as community changes

Lack of service and value data at scale of compliance

18


Barriers - Challenges

Current Regulatory Approaches

ES information aligns well with Land Use decision;

but land use mostly regulated locally

Major federal and state regulations driven by risk

mitigation or Injury avoidance not ES production

Regulations require biophysical or engineering data

or targets ; ES data not included

Linkage between stressor exposure, impact to

structure or function and ES is intellectually

apparent but not often scientifically demonstrated

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U.S. Clean Water Act

Today

Protection goals

linked to services

(fishable, swimmable

and drinkable)

Regulatory controls

linked to engineering

and toxicity based

standards

Delegated to states –

Basin plans

Site specific criteria

allowed

Administrator

flexibility

Tomorrow

Could set performance

based on ES tied to

WQS

Requires significant

research

State or regional basin

plans objectives tied to

ES beneficiaries

Requires regional data

Routine use of

Administrator flexibility

Rely on NEBA (net

Environmental Benefits

Analysis)

20


Houston - Galveston Region – Natural Value

SE Texas ecological diversity = economic impact

Recreational use / Commercial fisheries $3.2 B / year from Recreational fishing and boating

Significant conservation Initiatives in play

Houston

Wilderness

Trail

System

Houston

Green

Bayous

National

Recreation

Area

Designation


Water is Dominant Landscape Feature

Freshwater for drinking water

Stormwater management / Flood control

Industrial Use / Commercial Transportation

Freshwater inflow – Streams, wetlands, estuaries

N

S

Context

and

recipient

can vary

across a

region.

So

The

service of

water

changes

as move

from

North to

South

What is the value of 1 acre ft. of water or an acre of freshwater wetlands?


Management of Change Process Required

Change to Ecosystem Services as basis of

performance requires change management process

Current environmental management systems evolved

with regulations founded on bio-physical science and

engineering principles.

Current compliance focuses on risk mitigation or

injury avoidance not on ecological systems

production.

Current regulations have ES as aspirational goals but

not as compliance goals or targets

Any change to ES based regulatory performance will

require new infrastructure New management frameworks

New forms of data

New skill sets for Regulators and users

23


Change Demands a Robust Dialogue

Are we replacing or updating regulatory

systems?

Is an ES assessment an ecological or a socio-

economic analysis?

Fit for Purpose ? - What type and scale of data

are we collecting and how will it be used.

ES type and intensity are influenced by context

and audiences; can regulations be adaptable

and flexible for spatial and cultural

differences?

What scientific information and methods are

needed prior to installation of regulations?

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25

Questions / Discussion

Photos this slide: Cliff Meinhardt


26

Contact Information

Gregory R. Biddinger, Ph.D.

Natural Land Management

2334 Robinhood St.

Houston, TX 77005

713-203-0066

[email protected]

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Adapting to an Environmental Management … Wednesday/1...Adapting to an Environmental Management Paradigm Based on ... Business Analysis / Strategic planning ... The Walt Disney Company